Review of The Shawshank Redemption (1994) by Tony P — 26 Feb 2018
It is some twenty years since I last saw this film. I had forgotten in that period just how good a film it was.
It doesn't have the technical wizardry of some blockbusters never mind the multi-million action set pieces.
It is the relationship that develops between the primary characters. In this case life sentence prisoners at Shawshank Prison.
The film has a timeline of some twenty years or so. It begins with the intake of new prisoners including Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) and the ingenious way he adapts to his multiple life sentence for murder. Even more so when he is innocent as well.
Not only does he have to survive the homosexual advances of some fellow inmates but the strict bible bashing Warden that has some elements of the Patrick McGoohan character in Escape from Alcatraz.
It is the close and long standing friendship that develops with fellow lifer Ellis 'Red' Boyd (Morgan Freeman) that forms the backbone of the film.
Boyd is the ultimate 'scrounger' prisoner who prides himself on his ability to get almost any object into the prison including poster images of Rita Hayworth that cover up some serious and slow digging!
The film was criminally (literally!) overlooked at the 1994/5 Oscars but has gained recognition on home cinema release rated as the number one film on several movie aggregate sites.
This review of The Shawshank Redemption (1994) was written by Tony P on 26 Feb 2018.
The Shawshank Redemption has generally received very positive reviews.
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